Final Fantasy Negative 7
by Animedude93
Summary: A new threat arises to face the heroes of FF7, and not just them, but Sephiroth as well. A mysterious silver-haired boy, a black-cloaked figure, and the return of fallen warriors. Can they overcome the powers of the enigmatiic Negative World?
1. Reawakening

Final Fantasy **-**7

_**Prologue**_

_A story long forgotten….._

_The tale of the other side has yet to be told._

_Their long struggle against those of the world that was never meant to exist._

_It has gone unknown, unsaid, for eons._

_None today know of their struggle._

_Though the heroes of each world fought bravely, the ends of their tales are unknown._

_This story._

_It is one that has gone forgotten in the echoes of time that have since shrouded the past in mystery._

_The tale of the other side, the darker side….._

_And the tale that connects each of their worlds together finally….._

_All is to be said in time…._

_**Chapter 1- Reawakening**_

He awoke, lying in a forest.

He sat up and took a few quick glances around. Everything seemed fairly normal. But how could this be? Normal? He was supposed to be dead…. Again…..

Standing up now, he continued to look around; trees, birds, sky, nothing out of the ordinary. He didn't know how he came back this time, it wasn't his doing. Suddenly his train of thought was broken by a small voice.

"Hi there!" He turned to see a small boy. He had long silver hair, much like his, and a long gray coat covering a white shirt with multiple straps and buckles. He wore longer shorts and long socks. He also carried a small brown teddy bear by the arm.

"You're Sephiroth, right?" The boy said. Sephiroth was not surprised. Anyone who didn't know his name must have lived in a cave or something, and even that is stretching it a bit.

Sephiroth nodded, "Hmm, you show no fear. You do know the specifics of what I've done, don't you?" The boy smiled and nodded. Sephiroth was already suspicious of the boy. He took quite a few looks around the immediate area, and not once did he see this boy approaching, it was as if he appeared out of thin air.

"I know, but you won't hurt me, so why _should_ I be afraid?" The boy asked. Sephiroth raised an eyebrow, summoning his sword, Masamune, to his grip, "And what makes you think I won't?" He asked in his usual sinister tone.

The boy simply smiled and giggled, "Because I know where Cloud is." Sephiroth paused. He looked closer at the boy as he stood swaying back and forth, smiling, and holding his teddy bear. "You know who Cloud is?" Sephiroth interrogated. "Course I do, silly!" The boy said then giggled happily again.

Sephiroth only tightened the grip on his sword. Knowledge of Sephiroth is something that most common people have, but knowledge of who stopped him isn't as well known, least of all to children, and this boy only looked to be around 12. "How have you come across such knowledge?" He asked. The boy giggled again, "I dunno!" he said happily. Sephiroth's suspicions only grew thicker.

"You don't know….you really expect me to believe that?" Sephiroth asked. "Yup!" the boy replied. Sephiroth shook his head, lowered his sword, and turned away.

"I don't have time for games, boy." He said coldly. The boy giggled once more, "Games? No one's playing games, Sephiroth. You want Cloud dead, am I right? Well I know where you can find him, and I'll take you to him, simple as that!"

Sephiroth turned to look at him again. This boy was strange indeed, and Sephiroth was far from stupid. He knew _something_ was going on.

"Why would you want Cloud dead?" Sephiroth asked the boy. "Me? You're the one who wants him dead, silly! I'm just helping you." He replied.

"Why would you help me, then?" Sephiroth asked, trying to get _some_ answer.

"Well that's none of your business." The boy said happily, and then giggled. "So do you want to find him or not? I doubt you can find him on your own right now." He stated.

That peaked Sephiroth's interest, "And why couldn't I?"

"You can feel it, can't you?" The boy asked. "Your powers; they don't feel quite up to par right now, right? You couldn't find Cloud right now no matter how hard you try, so you might as well accept my help."

Sephiroth knew truth in those words. He did feel a bit weakened. Perhaps it was a side effect from coming back to life, however that happened. He didn't know. What he did know was that even in a weakened state, Sephiroth was still quite possibly the most powerful being on this Earth. Knowing there was still _something_ up, Sephiroth also knew this boy may indeed be his only source of finding the "hero" that put a stop to his plans three consecutive times. He had decided. If this boy was sincere, they'd track down Cloud, Sephiroth would kill him, and then he would continue with his plan for world destruction once more. If he was not, however, Sephiroth would kill him and be done with it. Either way he had nothing to lose.

"Fine. I'll follow you to Cloud. But if this is a trick…." He started.

"Trust me, Sephiroth, there's no tricks going on here. I said I'd take you to Cloud, so you can kill him, and that's exactly what I meant."

"Very well then. But one more thing, boy." Sephiroth looked at him seriously.

"What is it?" the boy asked.

"What exactly is your name?" Sephiroth asked.

The boy giggled and smiled, "My name is Epinine."


	2. An All Too Familiar Face

_**Chapter 2- An All Too Familiar Face**_

"CLOUD!" Tifa yelled, looking for her blonde friend, who had been gathering firewood for an hour now. She scoured the edge of the forest they were camping at. Eventually she saw a blonde spike sticking out behind a bush. She smiled and snuck up behind the bush quietly. Once she was positioned close enough, she jumped over the bush and onto the one behind it, "GOTCHA!" she yelled.

She then got a look of surprise when she saw that what she pounced on was not Cloud, but in fact just a deer grazing. The deer scrambled out from under her and ran off into the woods. She then heard chuckling from behind her. She turned around.

"Attacking deer now, Tifa?" said the hero of Final Fantasy 7, Cloud.

Tifa jumped up quickly with a scrunched look on her face, walked over to him and punched him hard in the chest. "You jerk!" she yelled.

"Ow….what was that for again?"

"For taking forever to gather the fire wood and then making me look like an idiot!" she yelled.

"I didn't do that, Tifa. You did that all by yourself."

Tifa growled at him. He grew a bit of a worried look and backed up a foot, holding his arms up towards her.

"Tifa, I know what you're thinking, but don't do it!" he said pleadingly.

"Awww, but why not?" she said with an evil look on her face, while walking closer.

Cloud stumbled over a stick while backing up, nearly causing himself to lose balance and fall. "Because….because you love me, remember?" he said quickly.

Tifa cracked her knuckles, "Clench your teeth, Cloud."

Barret, Cid, Yuffie, and Red XIII were setting up tents. Yuffie and Cid had no problems setting theirs up, but Barret and Red were not having the same fortune.

"Let's go campin' she says. It'll be good for us since we ain't seen each other in a while she says. Hmph….could go a while longer if ya ask me…" Barret mumbled to himself while desperately trying to set the tent up with his one arm.

Red shook his head, "You're doing it all wrong!" he said.

Barret growled, "You wanna try doin' it yourself, ya sad excuse for a disfigured dog!"

"If I had opposable thumbs, I would, but right now it seems that you are my only hope. But you might as well at least do it right!"

Yuffie looked over at the two after pounding the last stake holding their tent in place into the ground. She frowned, "Aw stick a pipe in it!" she shouted.

"Yeah! Don't make me have to come over there and shove my foot up _both___yer asses!"

"Goddammit! If Cait hadn't screwed up my mech hand, I'd have two perfectly good hands and this tent'd been set up hours ago!"

Yuffie shook her head, "Yeah well he did, so just get over it!"

"Bitch, you don't got an idea what it's like having to soak yo hand in de-rust crap every week!"

"Ya well you don't gotta take it out on us, so just get yer ass back to yer tent before I…" Cid began, but was suddenly cut off by screaming off in the distance.

The four of them listened as the screaming continued for a good ten minutes before Barret finally broke the half-silence.

"Should we help out?" He asked.

Yuffie shook her head quickly, "I don't know, that sounds pretty painful! I don't wanna be in that guy's place…."

Cid nodded in agreement, "Poor sum bitch…."

Red got a questioning look, "Is that….Cloud?" he asked, turning to look at the others.

They looked at each other for a moment, and then the screaming stopped. Shortly thereafter, Tifa came walking innocently into camp. The four of them looked at her questioningly as she calmly skipped over to her and Cloud's tent. She then turned and looked at them innocently and smiled.

"You guys look funny. Something wrong?" she asked.

Cid nodded, "You uh….didn't hear that?"

She then got a look like she was thinking about it for a moment, then smiled and shook her head, "Not a clue what you're talking about." She then walked into the tent.

As soon as Tifa entered the tent the rest of them heard strange groaning from the edge of the forest. They all turned to see Cloud slowly limping into the camp, completely battered and bruised, carrying a gigantic armful of wood.

Yuffie gasped, "Holy crap, Cloud! Are you okay!" she shouted as she ran over to him, followed by the pilot, beast, and black guy.

He just shoved them off, "I'm uh…..fine, really. Just….for the love of god, don't take long if she sends any of you out for wood" He managed to say.

"Oh Cloud!" Tifa beckoned from within their tent.

Cloud then got a panicked look, dropped the wood, and hurried into the tent while saying, "Coming Tifa!"

The rest of them looked at each other in confusion, but ultimately resigned to their tents for the night as well.

Sephiroth and Epinine continued their trek through the forest towards where Epinine was claiming was Cloud's camp. Sephiroth hadn't come to trust Epinine anymore, but Epinine seemed just as carefree as usual.

"So exactly how is it that you know where Cloud is?" Sephiroth inquired.

"I dunno." Epinine said happily.

Sephiroth found his patience growing short, "What do you mean you don't know? It's a simple question. How do you know, Epinine, tell me."

"I don't remember." Epinine said, still just as carefree and innocently.

Sephiroth just huffed and continued following him. He was still on guard, as he still didn't have a clue how he was brought back, who Epinine really was, what he really wanted, or if he really _was_ leading him to Cloud.

"So exactly where is he?" Sephiroth asked, deciding it best not to let Epinine become too aware of his suspicions, otherwise Epinine might manage to slip out of the palm of Sephiroth's hand.

"Up that way." Epinine said in his usual tone.

Sephiroth once again grew impatient with the preteen, "How _far_ up that way, Epinine?"

"About two minutes, why?" Epinine asked innocently.

Sephiroth stopped. Epinine stopped shortly after, looked back and tilted his head to the side in question. "Something wrong, Sephy?" he asked.

Sephiroth shook his head, "How many? Is he with his little friends?"

Epinine nodded, "All but Vincent and Cait Sith. Vincent had family members to attend to first before he joined with them, and Barret destroyed Reeve's most recent Cait, so another is currently on the way. So currently it's Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Cid, Yuffie, and the fluffy thing."

Sephiroth though for a moment. Sephiroth was strong, but Cloud had managed to defeat him one on one last time, and now Sephiroth was still slightly weakened. He was smart enough o realize that alone, he'd be no match for Cloud _and_ all of the others, and the kid wouldn't be much help, and would probably only weigh him down. He needed a plan if he was going to kill Cloud and get out alive.

Sephiroth smirked and looked at Epinine, who got an even more confused look. "You okay in there Sephy?" he asked cutely.

Sephiroth nodded. "Epinine, do you really want to help?"

Epinine nodded.

"Then all you have to do is walk in there and distract them. Say something like you normally do, and confuse them, while I go around and come up on Cloud from behind, then I'll end his meaningless existence and flee to recover my strength, got it?"

Epinine nodded and smiled. "One thing though, what do you mean say something like I normally do?"

Sephiroth shook his head, "You're naturally confusing, so it shouldn't be too hard for you."

Epinine frowned and put his hands on his hips, "Meanie….fine, sure no problem."

Sephiroth nodded, pulled out his sword, and proceeded to go around towards the back of their camp, while Epinine marched right in.

No one in Cloud's camp was asleep quite yet, everyone was doing one thing or another. Cloud and Tifa were talking about the babysitter they had left Denzel and Marlene with, Barret and Red were talking about their individual lives after Meteorfall, and Yuffie and Cid were arguing over whether young people or old people had the harder lives.

After a while, Cloud held a finger up to Tifa, "Shh….did you hear that?" he asked his close friend.

Tifa listened for a second, then shook her head, "Cloud, ever since Sephiroth came back that time, you've been really paranoid. You need to relax."

Cloud knew this. Sephiroth's last words, that he would never just be a memory, still haunted Cloud. He knew he had become a bit paranoid, but he believed he had good reason to be.

"Hmm…..maybe I was just hearing things…." Cloud muttered.

Tifa nodded. However, they were shortly interrupted by the sound of a young sounding voice from outside their tent.

"Hello? Anybody awake here?" the voice said.

Slowly, the group gathered outside to investigate the source of the noise, only to see a small silver-haired boy with a teddy bear.

Cloud noticed the hair and was immediately suspicious. Nobody but Sephiroth and people connected to him had silver hair. The others questioned the boy only to find out he had been separated from his parents and was lost.

Tifa noticed Cloud lagging behind everyone else and turned to look at him with a disappointed face, "Cloud he's just a little boy! Please don't tell me you're assuming it's something with Sephiroth again."

Cloud looked away, "He has silver hair, Tifa. It can't be a coincidence. It never is."

Tifa shook her head and sighed, "Cloud, I know silver hair isn't all that common, but come on. Does that look dangerous to you?" she said, pointing to the boy, who was now in tears whining about wanting his mommy.

Yuffie stroked the boy's hair, "There, there, sweetie. We'll find 'em! You've got a master ninja on your side! Oh, and the others too."

The boy sniffled and wiped his eyes with his sleeves, which draped over his hands due to the coat being too big. "You sure, miss? I don't want to burden you all."

Tifa went over to him, "It's no burden, hon. We'll find your parents in no time, ok?"

He eventually smiled and nodded, "Okay!"

Cloud still wasn't sure. At that moment he heard a shuffle behind him. Cloud turned to see what it was, but soon heard a sharp slice sound, and found himself of impaled by the all too familiar length of steel that he immediately deduced to be the Masamune, held by none other than his arch nemesis himself, Sephiroth.

Cloud looked in horror as Sephiroth once again lifted him up off the ground with his sword.

Sephiroth smiled evilly, "Well, well, well, it looks like despair just can't stay away from you, Cloud."


	3. The Mysterious Little Boy

_**Chapter 3- The Mysterious Little Boy**_

Hearing Cloud's scream pain, Tifa turned around to see the villain and Cloud trying desperately to pull the sword out.

Like a twitch, Tifa ran without thinking at the one-winged angel of death and swung at him. Too quick though, Sephiroth pulled his sword back and jumped far back away from Tifa and Cloud. Tifa ran over to Cloud and looked at his wound. The same place Sephiroth had stabbed him twice before. They hadn't seen or heard from Sephiroth in about 14 years. She was surprised that he had suddenly showed up now.

Cloud stood up, "Sephiroth! Why have you returned!" he yelled.

Sephiroth chuckled evilly, "Cloud, Cloud, Cloud…can you not guess? I've left certain matters…." He laughed again, "…unfulfilled."

At that, Sephiroth used his godly speed to charge and knock Tifa out of the way before she had time to react. By now, the others had told the little boy to run to safety and were already running over to support Cloud, who had already pulled out his Fusion Sword and began fighting his enemy.

Sephiroth knew this wasn't good, but he figured, if he can just get one good hit on Cloud, he could leave. After all, they're far enough from a hospital that it would kill him anyway, and last he checked, he didn't see any cure material lying around, so he doubted they'd be able to handle it themselves.

Sephiroth then put all he had into it in order to keep the others at bay even for a mere moment, so he could land that one crucial hit.

Cloud fought with all he had, but in the many years since he'd last fought anyone moderately powerful, Cloud was out of practice. He eventually got stabbed once more, but in a much more painful spot. It was lower on his stomach, and he could immediately see the blood flowing, and lots of it. Cloud collapsed to his knees, holding the wound and attempting to slow the bleeding, and looked up at Sephiroth angrily.

Sephiroth smiled. That's exactly what he needed, but he had just knocked Cloud's friends into a position where they could not immediately counterattack. He could land one more blow, and a finisher.

Sephiroth lifted his sword once more, as Cloud watched helplessly, unable to muster the strength to defend himself. Sephiroth swung, and Cloud closed his eyes, ready to embrace the death that had long sought him. He thought of Aeris, and Zack. And of Tifa. Tifa; he never told her his true feelings. However, something was off. He should've been dead by now. Amidst his though, Cloud didn't hear the bang.

Sephiroth looked in the direction that the bullet that stopped him came from. Vincent Valentine. He was here now, and that meant bad news.

"Grr….Epinine, let's go!" Sephiroth shouted to the boy.

The heroes looked in confusion as the boy came out from behind the tree and quickly ran towards Sephiroth.

Vincent decided that he'd try to hit Sephiroth with at least one more shot, and continued firing as he ran over to Cloud's side. Yuffie got up and tossed her shuriken. Cid started charging at Sephiroth, spear first, intending to run him through. Red charged up energy and went for a full on tackle. Barret changed his hand into the form that actually _was_ functional and proceeded to shoot as well.

This was bad for Sephiroth. Was it to end here? He raised his sword in an effort to be ready to defend himself, but knew that this barrage of attacks was more than he could handle at that moment. As he braced himself for the potentially life-threatening assault, everything stopped. The heroes all fell over, holding their heads in agony, leaving Yuffie's lone shuriken still flying at him, which he easily deflected.

Sephiroth looked around in question as gasps and groans of pain echoed throughout the area. The only one besides him not doubling over in pain was the boy. Epinine was still calmly coming towards him, smiling as usual.

Sephiroth admitted, even he was a little uneased by this. Epinine giggled, "What's wrong, Sephiroth? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Sephiroth shook his head, "No. I'm not quite sure _what_ I've seen."

Epinine giggled again, "Well? Shouldn't we run while we can? Everyone seems a little…." Epinine looked around at them and smiled, "…..distracted."

Sephiroth slowly nodded. He turned and fled, Epinine at his side. Slowly, as the villain and the boy left. The pain in their heads subsided and they got up.

They, rather than chase Sephiroth, decided to attend to Cloud first. After all, he was covered in blood now, and had fallen flat on the ground. He was unconscious, which wasn't good.

Vincent shook his head, "We have to get him to help."

Tifa, who had recovered and was Cloud's side first, nodded, "Yeah, and quickly!"

Barret came over and picked Cloud's body up, "Well let's get a move on then!" he yelled as he ran towards the car Vincent pulled up in.

They quickly loaded Cloud in and drove off.

As they drove, they all pondered what happened back in the forest. As soon as that boy came out from hiding, they all felt a horrible stabbing pain in their heads.

Barret shook his head, "That was some bullshit…..kid was a no good lying lil' shit…" he said. The rest of them nodded.

"I can't believe it. Sephiroth is using children now? How low…" said Tifa.

"Well it's not all _that_ new. Remember Kadaj?" asked Yuffie.

"Yes but Kadaj was not _quite_ Sephiroth. Sephiroth himself has always been somewhat of a loner." Red XIII commented.

"Still though! Recruitin some little runt! That's a level even _lower_ than that ass clown's usually been!" Cid yelled.

Tifa continued taking care of Cloud's wounds as Vincent drove like a madman. She looked up at him, forcing a laugh, trying to hide her concern for her dear friend, "Heh, Vincent, I didn't even know you _could_ drive."

Vincent chuckled a little, "It's been fourteen years, Tifa. I have two kids remember? I can't force my wife to do ALL the driving."

Tifa nodded, "So how are they?"

Vincent shook his head, "Tifa, you and I both know this isn't what you want to talk about right now. How does he look?"

"Not good…" she barely answered between sobs. She lowered her head onto Clouds chest, sobbing into it heavily. "Cloud….please don't leave me….I promise, I won't take any longer to tell you….please…"

This sight brought some of the others to tears themselves. Yuffie tried to stay tough, but eventually broke down. Red looked away, letting a few escape his eyes as he lowered his head. Cid managed to keep most of his back, but still had to wipe his eyes once or twice.

Barret shook his head, "The hell ya'll doin! Ya act like the damn guy's already dead! Show's how much faith ya got in him! Relax, spiky'll pull through. Damn dude can survive a fall from that Mako Reactor into Aeris's church can't he? So why in the hell wouldn't he be able to survive this!"

The others slowly nodded hopefully.

"Barret has a point." Said Vincent, "Cloud usually pulls through. Our real issue should be Sephiroth's return and that strange kid he had with him."

Tifa thought back. That boy had silver hair. Cloud was right; people with silver hair always have some connection to Sephiroth, but how this time? Was it another remnant? No. Sephiroth isn't the type to retry a failed plan. So what was it with the boy?

"Maybe Sephiroth came back a while ago, and this kid is his son or something!" Yuffie suggested.

Cid scoffed, "Ha! Gotta be kiddin' me! What kinda dumbass would date a guy like that!"

"I don't know! He's cute, you never know!" Yuffie responded.

The others all looked at her.

"….What? He is! Hey don't get me wrong, I'm not about to betray you all and go run off and do him or anything, I'm just saying! The guys is toned and not bad looking. That's it."

Barret rolled his eyes, "Great. Cloud's actin' like he's gonna kick the bucket, the world's in danger again, we got anotha enemy to figure out, and you're droolin' over Sephiroth's body!"

Yuffie growled and looked away.

Tifa shook her head, "Back on to the subject, the fact that that kid had the same color hair and eyes as Sephiroth is no coincidence, especially since it seems like somehow that kid is the one responsible for that random pain we all felt."

"Maybe it isn't even a kid at all, who knows, maybe Sephiroth scientifically made him or something." Said Red XIII.

"Sephiroth may be smart, but creating people with science? He's no Hojo." Vincent responded.

Tifa looked out the window; it had started to rain. She pondered exactly who this "child" was, but no obvious answer was making itself known. "Who knows? But one thing is for sure. That kid isn't good news. And it's no better knowing Sephiroth is the one pulling the strings…." She said.

No matter what, Tifa couldn't shake the feeling that somehow there was more to worry about than Sephiroth. Almost like there was some sort of dark shadow looming over her. It mad the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, how eerie it felt. It was an ominous feeling she couldn't shake, and she had no idea why. What she did know though, is that things were surely only going to get worse.


	4. Journeys With A 12 Year Old

_Hello, author here. Please give me feedback on how the story is going so far. And btw sorry for my idiot buddy posting his question while still logged in on MY account! Anyway, Epinine's name is indeed pronounced Ep-Inn-Eeen. This chapter is gonna for the most part be a bit of a comic one, but it'll still have vital pieces to the story, rest assured. I wouldn't just put a pointless chapter. In fact, this one will give a slight glimpse into Epinine's mind. And yes, I know my chapters are short, but their plentiful. I believe that it'll be a constant thing people can look forward to, and not have to wait long periods of time for. That, and if I didn't refresh the writing by adding a new chapter fairly often, I'd never have the patience to finish. Now without further ado, let's get back to Sephiroth and Epinine as they continue their adventures._

_**Chapter 4- Journeys With A 12 Year Old**_

It had been a few hours since Sephiroth and Epinine fled the scene. For the most part, they remained quiet and moved quickly to make sure they were not detected in case they were followed. Eventually though, Epinine looked at Sephiroth with a disappointed look.

"Really?" Epinine asked suddenly.

Sephiroth looked at him questioningly, "Really, what?" he asked in return.

"The same spot. You stab him in the SAME….EXACT…..SPOT!" the boy yelled.

"What do you…" Sephiroth began to say, but was cut off.

"It didn't work the first three times, why the heck would it work NOW! I mean really! There's nothing vital there! Why didn't you just cut off his head or something when you were hidden! That way you could've avoided getting SHOT!"

Epinine's sudden outburst admittedly caught Sephiroth a little off guard. What happened to his cute and innocent act? He seemed irritated.

"You….seem angry." Sephiroth stated simply.

Epinine glared at him, "I SEEM angry! That's all you can say! Tell me honestly, did you actually think you'd kill him by stabbing him there!"

"I didn't want him to die too quickly. I wanted him to suffer first. That's why I stabbed that spot. He'd feel intense pain, but not be released from it for a while."

Epinine sighed, "That's why, Sephiroth. That's why you never win. Instead of just killing him and getting it over with, you want to make him 'suffer' first. Is that really necessary? I mean it causes you to waste precious time you could be spending, oh I don't know, actually KILLING PEOPLE! And maybe actually going through with your plans afterwards! Or did that never cross your mind?"

Sephiroth was a little surprised, and at a slight loss for words. "It doesn't matter. Either way, he'll die now anyway. I made sure the second stab _was_ in a vital spot."

"No he won't"

Sephiroth stopped and looked back at Epinine, "What do you mean?"

"He won't die." Epinine responded.

"How could you know? You're not there right now."

"Trust me Sephiroth, I know. Cloud is still alive. Barely, but he is, and he'll recover." Epinine seemed completely sure.

Sephiroth couldn't believe his ears. Did he really fail again? But how could Epinine have known? Maybe it was a trick?

Sephiroth shook his head, "You're wrong. There's no way they could get back to a hospital in time.

"YOU'RE wrong." Said Epinine, "Vincent brought a car. You didn't plan on that at first, but trust me, that guaranteed that they'll get there in time."

That made sense, but Sephiroth didn't want to believe it.

"Fine." He said, "If that's the case, I suppose we'll have to find him again then, won't we?"

Epinine nodded, "I warn you though, they're pretty far away."

"I don't care. I'll travel as long as it takes in order to end him. And seeing as it's obvious enough that you ARE on my side, then you can lead me to him."

"Okie dokie!" Epinine started walking, and after treating his wound, Sephiroth followed.

The two had been traveling for a day or so before they reached Kalm, and Epinine collapsed to the ground. Sephiroth turned around to see the pathetic sight of the small boy lying on the ground groaning.

"Get up, Epinine." Sephiroth commanded.

"No…." Epinine groaned.

"Epinine, we'll never reach Cloud with distractions like this."

"I'm hungry….."

"Epinine!"

"I'M HUNGRY!"

Sephiroth shook his head, "That's too bad!"

Epinine looked up with tears in his eyes, " I want FOOD! How can you live without eating! What's wrong with you! I need food!" he yelled.

"I will end you if you do not stand up right now." Sephiroth said coldly.

"Then you won't find Cloud! And that'll give him enough time to recover back to full strength and join with his friends, and then they'll kill you again!" Epinine argued.

Sephiroth knew this was probably true, unfortunately, and sighed, "What do you want?"

"FOOD!" he screamed.

The shriek of his childish voice pierced deep into Sephiroth's head. He stumbled back a step, a little dazed. He then shook his head, "What KIND of food? You little nuisance." He said.

Epinine pointed to an ice cream stand, "Food!" he yelled again.

Sephiroth couldn't believe this. Ice cream? Really? How was he supposed to get Epinine ice cream? He was Sephiroth! He didn't have money, and the people would run in terror at the mere sight of him! Currently they were hidden, but now Epinine wanted to completely ruin that.

"Epinine, I can't just go up and get you ice cream." He said.

Epinine tilted his head, "Why not?" he asked.

"I'm Sephiroth…..you do realize that people would run away in fear from me….don't you?"

"No! Food! Now!" Epinine screamed. Epinine then began screaming, crying and thrashing about on the ground.

This wasn't good, if people noticed Epinine throwing a fit on the ground, then it would draw unwanted attention from everyone in the area, which would blow his cover completely. At least if he got Epinine his precious ice cream, only one person, and maybe a few over lookers would see him, and at least word of his return would spread slower. He knew he didn't have much of a choice.

He covered Epinine's mouth. Epinine opened his eyes and looked up in question. Sephiroth sighed, "Look, I'll get your damn ice cream if you stay quiet and make SURE you take me to Cloud afterwards on the quickest route possible."

Epinine nodded. Sephiroth released him, "Chocolate with sprinkles please!" the boy said happily.

Sephiroth rolled his eyes and snuck up on the ice cream merchant. He came up from behind, grabbed him, and covered his mouth.

"Stay silent, do what I say, and I won't kill you." He then released the man and stepped in front of him so the man could clearly see who it was. Once seeing him, the man got a horrified look and nodded quickly.

"Wh-what do you want, M-Mr. Sephiroth, sir?" the man stuttered.

"I want your ice cream." Sephiroth said. He couldn't believe he was really doing this. It was ridiculous!

The man looked at Sephiroth in question, "Uh….ice cream?" He asked, "That's it?"

Sephiroth nodded, "Chocolate."

The man nodded, giving Sephiroth a strange look as though he was crazy, and began scooping chocolate ice cream onto a cone.

"With sprinkles!" Sephiroth heard Epinine yell from where he was still hiding.

Sephiroth sighed, "With sprinkles…."

The man nodded again, adding sprinkles on top of the ice cream. He then handed the cone to Sephiroth.

"Have a…..nice day?" he said as Sephiroth was walking quickly back to Epinine.

Sephiroth practically shoved the ice cream in Epinine's face.

"Here!" he said. Epinine nodded and took it happily.

"Thank you very much." He said childishly as if he was reciting it.

Sephiroth sighed heavily and sat down as Epinine quickly ate the ice cream. While waiting for Epinine to finish his "Mmm!"s and "This is so good!"s, Sephiroth contemplated changing his appearance. At least that way he wouldn't immediately be recognized. After all, long silver hair, an unnecessarily long sword, and a long black coat made him stick out like a sore thumb, and still being a little weak, he didn't need Shinra, or anyone else coming after him.

As Epinine began biting on the cone, Sephiroth grabbed his hair, put it in a ponytail, and cut it with his sword, so it was now at shoulder length. Epinine watched as he then trimmed his bangs a slight bit, then moved to cutting up his coat.

By the end of it, Sephiroth looked much different. Not unlike himself, but definitely altered.

Distracted, Sephiroth had taken his eyes off of Epinine. When he looked back, the ice cream was completely gone and he was licking his fingers.

"You ate it that fast?" Sephiroth asked.

"Uh…..ya….You look good, Sephiroth!" he said.

Sephiroth shook his head, "It's out of necessity, don't think I do this because I want to."

Epinine nodded and stood, "Well let's go! We've still got a lot of ground to cover if you want to get to Cloud!"

Sephiroth nodded and they continued.

A while later when they entered another forest, Epinine asked Sephiroth a question.

"So whatcha gonna do _after_ you beat Cloud?"

Sephiroth stopped and laughed evilly, "What am I going to do? Ha! Exactly what I tried to do _before_ that so-called 'hero' came along, annihilate this world and move on to the next, just as my mother did."

Epinine looked at him funny, "Mother?"

Sephiroth nodded, "My mother, JENOVA."

Epinine nodded, "Oh…..was she pretty?"

Sephiroth thought for a minute, "I….don't really know." He said.

Epinine looked at him the same way, "Well how can you not know? She raised you didn't she? Well was she pretty? Or at least nice?"

Sephiroth shook his head, "She didn't raise me, she made me."

Epinine nodded again, "Oh ok I see, so she gave birth to you, but she didn't actually _raise_ you."

Sephiroth shook his head again, "She didn't give birth to me either."

Epinine looked confused, "Wait, wait, she didn't give birth to you. She didn't raise you. How exactly is this woman your mother?" he asked.

Sephiroth sighed in annoyance, "Because it was her cells that made me what I am."

Epinine shook his head, "That doesn't make her your mother, stupid!"

Sephiroth stopped once more, "She is my mother, because it is because of her I exist. She chose me to carry out her plans. I am the chosen one, put here on this Earth in order to wipe humanity of the face of it. And I will carry out that duty if it is the last thing I do." He then proceeded to laugh evilly.

Epinine smiled and giggled, "You're kinda crazy aren't you? You don't call some creepy random thing like that you mother! God…..I'm not sure if you even KNOW how babies are born. Mother my foot."

Sephiroth just sighed. He put a hand into his pocket for a moment, but when he did so, he felt something sticky and nasty covering the inside of the pocket. He jerked it back out and look at his hand. Chocolate. Sephiroth glared at Epinine. Epinine just smiled.

"Epinine, what is this!" Sephiroth yelled.

"My ice cream. I put it in there so I can eat it later, but I guess it melted….oh well!" Epinine said happily.

Sephiroth had the overwhelming temptation to cut the boy down right there, but doing so would only result in him losing his only possibility of finding Cloud before Cloud could completely recover.

Sephiroth took a deep breath. "We'll have to stop somewhere with water so I can get rid of this." He said.

Epinine nodded, "Okay, just one sec." He reached into Sephiroth's pocket and pulled out a half melted chocolate donut and happily bit into it.

Sephiroth's eyes widened, "What! Where did that come from!" He yelled.

Epinine looked up, "Huh? Oh, well while you were taking forever to get my ice cream, I went and bought a donut!" he explained simply.

Sephiroth shook his head in disbelief, "Where did you get the money!" he yelled.

"I dunno."

Sephiroth just about lost it, "Why do you always say you don't know!"

"I don't remember."

"And that, you always say that!"

Epinine just shrugged.

Sephiroth took another deep breath in order to keep from destroying the runt. He said calmly, "Fine. Just no more putting food in my coat pocket, understand?"

"Sure, no problem!" Epinine said.

With that, the two continued. Only a moment later though, Sephiroth turned to see that the donut had disappeared too. He stopped yet again.

"Epinine?"

"Yes?"

"Where did your donut go?"

"Huh? Oh! I put it in your back pants pocket!"

Sephiroth almost had an eye twitch at this point. "Epinine, we JUST talked about putting food in my pockets."

Epinine shook his head, "No, we talked about putting food in your COAT pocket."

Sephiroth kept himself from strangling Epinine, "ANY POCKET, EPININE!"

Epinine nodded, "Oh, okay, sorry."

Sephiroth shook his head, "Don't let it happen again."

Epinine nodded, "Okay!" he said happily.

Once again, they continued walking. Eventually they had to stop for the night, so Sephiroth found a spot beneath a bigger, thicker tree, and sat down.

Epinine looked at him in question, "That's it?" he asked.

"What's it?" Sephiroth responded.

"You're not gonna set up an actual camp? No fire? No makeshift shelter? Nothing?"

"I see no reason to; we'll be leaving early in the morning, so there's no point in getting too comfortable."

"Ugh!" cried Epinine as he began building a fire pit.

Sephiroth didn't care. Let the boy do what he wants, he only had to deal with the brat for a little while longer, and then he'd finally be free. Sephiroth rolled over and closed his eyes. Even the almighty need a _little_ bit of sleep. Besides, maybe he could then recover the last of his strength.

Epinine looked over at Sephiroth. He was going to sleep. Now Epinine was stuck building the pit by himself. "Lazy butt…now where to start?"

Epinine assembled a bunch of rocks into a circle, placed wood in the middle and rubbed a rock on Sephiroth's sword for a spark. Eventually he started the fire. He sat by it and sighed. He was admittedly a little tired after moving all day long.

He flopped backwards onto his back. "Ahhh…now for food…ugh….hungry…..bringing Sephiroth back to life really took a lot…..yeesh….."

While looking for food, Epinine couldn't believe how things were going. Sephiroth wasn't doing so well, but that was ok. As long as he could eventually get Cloud out of the way, all would be good. Epinine eventually sensed something though. He stopped and smiled.

"I know you're there." Epinine said.

A voice came from behind him in the darkness. "Huh, well guess my cover's blown huh? Well I guess I knew I couldn't hide from ya for too long." the man said in a carefree voice.

"Why did you follow me?" Epinine asked.

"Why? Well I can't have you killing my friends now. What kind of guy would that make me?" the voice responded.

Epinine smiled. "You can't stop me. You couldn't even stop Sephiroth. You've got no hope, idiot."

"Yeah? Well I guess we'll just have to wait and see. For now, though, I'm gonna go see how a friend of mine is doing. Catch ya later." The voice said.

At that moment, there was a whoosh sound and flapping. The man was now gone. Epinine caught one of the white feathers that fell towards him. Epinine simply smiled as he usually did. That pathetic excuse for a hero couldn't stop him. It was hopeless. Epinine giggled and continued looking for food.

The next morning Sephiroth woke up to the smell of something cooking. He sat up and saw Epinine eating a piece of meat he had clearly taken from the large mass still spinning over the fire.

"Morning, Sephiroth. Hungry?" Epinine asked.

Sephiroth walked over to the fire, sat, and grabbed a small piece. "What is it?" he said as he took a bite.

"I don't remember." Epinine said simply as he continued eating.

Sephiroth halfway expected an answer like that. That's why he took a bite himself. It wasn't chicken, the thing spinning was too big and the meat was too dark. It didn't taste like pork or beef either. It was a bit stringy and kind of juicy. Sephiroth continued to ponder this, and casually observed his surroundings while he ate. Eventually his eyes came to rest at a spot. His eyes widened in horror and he spit the food out, gagging.

Epinine tilted his head in question, "Not good?" he asked.

Sephiroth glared at Epinine and pointed to the shoe on the ground close by. Epinine shook his head with a look like he had no idea what Sephiroth was talking about. Rather than question if he was wrong, Sephiroth decided just to stay quiet, for if he was right in thinking what Epinine had done, he would probably throw up. Sephiroth may have not been the nicest guy, or the most heroic guy, but that was a little much, even for him. It _may_ have been a misunderstanding, after all, it was dark when they showed up, and he might have just not seen the shoe earlier. But, again, he decided not to question it too much. He didn't eat another bite, but he waited for Epinine to finish, and they left.

Sephiroth's thoughts on Epinine were mixed. On one side there was the annoying little brat that threw temper tantrums, wanted ice cream for dinner, and made stupid childish mistakes. On the other, though, there was the mysterious boy who appeared out of nowhere, never shared too much information, seemed to have strange powers, and might have even killed a person. Unsure of what to think, Sephiroth directed his focus back on Cloud. The sooner he could get rid of him, the better.

Epinine looked up at Sephiroth and smiled. He knew. Epinine knew Sephiroth was suspicious of him. He knew the fact that he seemed to appear out of nowhere, that he always said 'I don't know' or 'I don't remember', that he seemed to cause that strange phenomenon to Cloud and his friend's heads, and that there was that strange meat and shoe all made him seem strange. How little Sephiroth knew.

"_Trust me Sephiroth…" _Epinine thought to himself, _"….those are the least of your worries."_


	5. Day In The Life Of The Valentine Family

_Sorry it took me so long to update, it's just that with winter break, xmas, and new years I was kind of distracted :P. But don't think I forgot my loyal readers! Without any more delay, here is chapter 5, detailing Cloud's recovery from his life-threatening wound….and uh…Vincent's….. interesting family. Seeing as Lucrecia really wasn't an option anymore, he had to move on after all. Now please read, and enjoy. And tell me how you like it so far! I feed on good comments and they give me fuel to keep updating!_

_**Chapter 5- A Day In The Life Of The Valentine Family**_

Cloud woke up 18 hours after the doctors began working on him. Afterwards he was in the hospital for a good few days before he was released. He was given heavy pain medication, and a lot of it, for the many stabs and cuts he got from fighting Sephiroth that time. Knowing though that Sephiroth was still out there, the others decided it'd be too dangerous to leave Cloud at his own home in this state. As they wheeled him out of the hospital, they pondered whose house he should stay at.

"Considering the fact that we live together, I'm out of the question." Tifa said.

"I have no home nearby. When I'm around you all, I just stay with Reeve." Red XII said.

"Sure as hell can't stay with me. I'm out too." Said Barret, knowing he usually stays with Tifa and Cloud when he comes back to visit.

Cid shook his head, "Damn guy'd get too airsick with me."

Yuffie shook her head as well, "I don't really have a place to stay per say. I usually stay with Cid in his airship.

Everyone then turned their heads towards Vincent. Vincent shook his head rapidly, "Oh no, trust me, you don't want him with me!" Vincent warned.

"Well you're the only one with a place of his own that actually serves as an easy and non-obvious place for Cloud to stay." Tifa said.

Vincent grew a concerned face and shook his head again, "No, believe me, my home would be the WORST place for him to be and recover!"

They continued to argue this point before Vincent finally, and regretfully accepted.

"Fine." He said, "But do NOT say I didn't warn you."

Cloud shook his head, "Vincent, I'll be fine."

Vincent sighed and got in the vehicle, driving now towards his home.

While driving to Vincent's house, Yuffie suddenly got a curious look and tapped Vincent's shoulder, "Hey Vince, what exactly were these 'family matters' you had to take care of before joining our camping trip, huh?"

Vincent sighed, "My kids got in trouble." He said as if he was still hiding something.

Cloud looked curious now too, "For what?" he asked slowly, still drugged by his medicine.

Vincent looked away and sighed, "For um…..blowing up a building with a rocket launcher that belonged to them."

The others responded quickly with many "what!"s and "holy shit!"s.

"But they said they weren't aiming for it, so it's at least not _quite _that bad." Vincent continued.

"Well where the hell'd they get the gun! What da hell _were_ they aimin' at!" Barret asked.

Vincent sighed again, "Um…..each other." He finally said.

"What! Oh my god! Really!" Tifa said, worried.

Vincent nodded, "But don't worry, neither of them are injured. Due to the fact that both I, and their mother are good with guns, they sort of….inherited it. It's quite a common occurrence, but they usually get no more than a few scratches and bruises."

The rest of them nodded, still a bit concerned. Silence ensued for a few moments until Red asked the next question.

"So exactly what building did they blow up?" he said.

Vincent stayed quiet. "Vincent?" Tifa said, trying to get his attention.

Vincent sighed once more, "Their school….which they swear they did on accident." He uttered.

The others then glared at him as if he was stupid. "I'm not convinced either. But believe me, being with their mother after she found that out is a more brutal punishment than you can think of." He continued.

The others had started to debate whether or not brining Cloud to Vincent's house really _was_ a good idea.

Eventually Vincent pulled into his driveway. Everyone else noticed that Vincent lived in a neighborhood, but it seemed as if his closest neighbors, a building that actually seemed to _have_ people living in it, unlike all the others, was at least 5 houses away…..and that was just Reeve.

"So uh….Vince, what's with the lonely house? Where's all your neighbors?" Yuffie asked.

Vincent got out of the car and began walking towards the front door of his large white house. "They uh…..moved…..they thought we were a family of vampires…." He said.

"Well I can get you, but why'd they think it was a whole family?" Cid asked.

Vincent stopped. "My children look just like me. Black hair, pale skin, red eyes, and red or black clothing. And my wife….." he paused as the door opened.

The woman who came out had long blonde hair, pale skin, red eyes, and a short black dress. She also opened up a black umbrella as she came outside, shielding herself from the sun.

"Vincent." She said in a sweet sounding and rather alluring voice.

Vincent gulped. Vincent Valentine, the great hero that stopped Omega, and one of the many heroes that faced Sephiroth actually gulped, as if he was afraid.

"Yes, sweetie?" he asked calmly and eagerly.

"Get your ass back in this house, NOW!" she demanded, the sweet and alluring sound completely gone.

The others either looked on in surprise, or allure. On one side, this woman that they'd yet to meet just ran Vincent inside like a scared dog, but on the other side…..Vincent had a gorgeous wife. Cid and Barret's mouths gaped and even Cloud couldn't help but take a second glance. The female heroes and Red stood in awe as this woman mad the great Vincent Valentine obediently go inside.

After watching Vincent go inside with a glaring look, she looked back towards the others, and immediately the sweet look was back on her face. She came up to them, "Why, hello. You must be Vincent's friends! He's told me so much about you!" she said excitingly. She then turned her head back towards the open door, "Vincent! You didn't tell me we were having company! The house is a PIG STYE!" she yelled loudly, making some of the others cringe.

She then looked back at them with that sweet look again and smiled, "Please, come inside!" she said happily.

The others slowly nodded, their eyes still widened, and their minds still blown by this sudden sequence of events.

They walked towards the door only to hear bangs and explosions. They also heard Vincent yelling desperately for whoever was causing it to stop, but obviously to no avail. The woman stopped them again, "Uh, hold on a sec." She said, smiling, then stomped in her high heels to the door. Once inside, they lost sight of her. They then heard even louder bangs and loud screaming.

Shortly thereafter, two twin boys came sprinting out of the house, screaming in fear. They hid behind the group of heroes, saying things like "We're not here!" and "Don't let her find us!"

They then witnessed the woman come back to the opened door carrying a spatula. "Vice! Vera!" she yelled. The two cowering boys came out from behind them. She pointed inside. The two boys shook their heads. She raised the spatula and glared at them. They quickly ran in with panicked looks.

Fixing her hair, the woman looked back at them and lowered the spatula, smiling again, "Like I said, come in!" she said warmly.

The others were a bit scared themselves now. What could she do with that spatula that could create booms that loud and make people run in fear? They all gulped and slowly came in. As they stepped inside, they witnessed Vincent sitting and massaging his temples on the first stair of the staircase to the right of the front door and what was obviously the living room in front of the door. The two teenage boys were _already_ arguing and seemed to be wrestling each other all over the living room, knocking things over and shifting other things out of place. The woman growled, walked over, grabbed each one by an ear, and dragged them over to the heroes, the boys yelping and groaning in pain on the way.

Vincent sighed in relief as the boys finally quieted down in their mother's seemingly strong grip. He got up and walked over.

"Thank you, honey." He said.

"Anytime, sweetie." She said sweetly, and then kissed him.

Vincent then looked over at his friends. "This is my wife, Victoria, and my sons, Vice and Vera." He said, pointing to them.

"Twins huh?" Cid said.

They both nodded and simultaneously said, "Yup!" and then glared at each other as if the other boy was copying him.

First, the slightly smaller a

nd thinner one came up to them, "I'M Vera." He said, "Nice to meet you all!" Vera was dressed in a black tank top, and red shorts. He also had a pair of goggles in his spiky black hair.

The other one shoved Vera out of the way, "And I'M Vice!" he said, "How's it goin?" Vice was a bit bigger than Vera, had a long red trench coat and black clothing, and spiky black hair like his brother.

Vera proceeded to shove back, which Vice responded to by tackling him to the ground. The twins rolled on top of each other into the kitchen. Victoria chased after, screaming at them to break it up.

Barret chuckled, "So uh….heh, those are your kids huh?"

Vincent shook his head, "No. Their two minions from hell sent to terrorize me, and they came from the demonic vessel I call my wife, who I swear becomes a demon herself sometimes…."

They heard Victoria in the kitchen say, "What was that, honey?" in a slightly irritated voice.

Vincent panicked, "Uh, nothing dear! I was just saying how much I loved my beautiful wife and perfect sons, and how much I enjoy being a husband and father!" he quickly said.

"Good. That's what I thought you said." Victoria said from the kitchen triumphantly, knowing she had won.

Vincent sighed, "Well seeing as he's already here, I suppose Cloud can stay. I'll make sure Vice and Vera are on their best behavior." He reassured.

"Well, I guess we've got no choice. I guess we'll see you later, Cloud. Please, try and rest, I'll be back to visit soon, I promise" Tifa said.

The group proceeded to leave the house; too quickly to see Cloud weakly trying to climb out of his wheelchair and towards the door. He had also been muttering "No….no…." but was so drugged they didn't hear him.

Vincent wheeled Cloud over next to the couch and helped him onto it. Victoria came out, looked around, and then got an angry look.

"Sweetie…..where are your friends?" she asked.

"They left, why?"

"They left!" she yelled.

Vincent nearly fell over from the sudden outburst. "Yes. Is that a problem?"

Victoria shook her head, "No. That just means YOU'LL have to finish the dinner for ten yourself." She said, and tossed him a wooden spoon.

Vincent sighed, "Well, I guess I'll see you in a little bit, Cloud." He said, and went into the kitchen.

Cloud sighed heavily. Things were NOT going his way lately.

All alone in the living room now, the drugged Cloud began thinking about what he'd do once healthy….well attempted to anyway. The basis of what he had planned at that point, due to the many pills he had to take, was that he needed to stop Sephiroth and that boy no matter what the cost. Distracted by his thoughts, Cloud didn't notice the approach of two demons entering the room he was in.

Vice looked at Vera, "Let's mess with the guy." He whispered.

Vera nodded, "Ya. He's nothing more than a zombie right now anyway. Heh, not like he'll notice."

Sneakily, Vice snuck up behind Cloud. With one swift movement, he shoved Cloud out of his seat on the couch. Vice caught him and pushed him into the wheelchair. Cloud looked on in confusion, not having the ability to even lift his arms for very long, let alone fight back. The twins continued and pulled Cloud in his wheelchair to the back yard.

Cloud couldn't tell what exactly they were doing. Were they showing him around the house? All he knew is that they were snickering.

Vera stood on one side of the yard, Vice on the other with Cloud.

"Ready, sis!" Vice yelled.

"Ha ha, funny, you jerk! Ya go ahead!"

With all his strength, Vice shoved Cloud's chair across the yard with all his might. Cloud held on with what little strength he had, cursing his luck for the events occurring. At least he didn't push _too_ hard. After all, Cloud only barely made it to Vera. Scared and mumbling "please….stop…." Cloud simply held on.

"That's all you've got!" Vera yelled.

Vice scoffed, "Oh yeah! Let's see you do better!"

Vera smirked and looked at Cloud with an evil gleam in his eye, "Gladly."

Cloud braced himself, but didn't worry too much. They could only push so hard, so as long as they tired quickly he'd be fine.

Much to Cloud's surprise, Vera was different. With a strength that seemed inhuman, he was shoved all the way across the yard, but not just that. He kept going, forcing Vice to jump out of the way in fear. Cloud held on desperately and prayed for his life, as his chair rocketed towards the street. He heard the two boys behind him.

"Crap!" they simultaneously shouted.

"Vera you idiot! Look what you did! Slow down, Cloud!" Vice yelled as he ran after Cloud.

"Vice you dumbass! He _can't_ slow down!" Vera yelled back as he ran after Cloud.

Cloud feared for his life as he struggled desperately to free himself from his death chair. There were cars on the road, and Cloud knew he was going much too fast to give them time to stop, or even slow down.

Vincent heard his sons screaming and looked out the window in horror to see the helpless blonde fast approaching danger. He immediately ran outside.

Cloud summoned all the strength he could possibly manage and then some, and shoved himself out of the speeding chair. Only milliseconds after, it careened into the road and was hit repeatedly by multiple screeching vehicles.

Vincent immediately ran to Cloud's side and lifted him up and away from the roadside, where a few cars were still chaotically swerving, and brought him inside. After setting the terrified hero on the couch, Vincent proceeded to look with a furious look at his sons. Both of them gulped and pointed to the other shouting, "He did it!"

Vice and Vera looked angrily at each other, "You were the one who pushed him!" Vice yelled.

"Yeah, but it was you're idea!" Vera argued.

Vincent shook his head, sighed, grabbed both of them by the ears, and dragged them to his and Victoria's room, where his wife was currently residing, the boys screaming and calling for help the entire way once they realized Vincent's destination.

He walked in, threw them on the bed and closed the door. Victoria didn't look away from the mirror she was brushing her hair in front of. "What'd they do now, sweetie?" she asked.

"They put Cloud in his wheelchair and shoved him into the middle of the road…." He answered.

She looked at the boys and smiled with a look that oozed danger. The boys cringed and cowered.

"Did they, now…" she said, smacking the back of the brush on her palm. "Alright sweetie, you go deal with Cloud, and I'll set them straight." She said so innocently and sweetly.

"Thank you." Vincent said; now free to take care of any _more_ injuries Cloud may have.

Ignoring the boys' pleads for help; Vincent went back down to Cloud. Cloud laid there groaning in pain from the excess energy he had just exerted.

Vincent propped Cloud up with pillows and switched on the television, handing him a remote and another pill of his medication.

Vincent apologized for his sons' behavior. Cloud thanked him for the help and simply nodded off into sleep.

Vincent went back up to his room to hear his sons apologizing to their mother. She kissed them both on the forehead and sent them off after promises of no more mischievous acts towards Cloud.

Vincent sighed, "Well, Cloud's okay. I gave him his medication like I was supposed to, and he went straight to sleep."

Victoria smiled and embraced him, "Good. So that means no more distractions. I haven't spent any time with my honey in days. Now you get to stay up here with me, got it?"

Vincent smiled and nodded, "What about dinner?"

"Dinner's gonna take a while to cook, so you get to snuggle with me for a bit first."

Vincent nodded again.

Vice and Vera sat in their room grumbling and complaining about how unfair what happened to them was. After all they were just having fun, right? It's not _their_ fault an accident happened. And it _was_ just an accident.

"Stupid Cloud…." Vice sighed, kicking his bed slightly.

"Yeah, went and got us in trouble…" Vera agreed.

"We should do something else!" Vice suggested.

"What? And face mom again? I'd rather not. I love her and all, but she's scary when she's angry. You know that more than anyone, after all _you_ get in the most trouble." Vera responded.

"Yeah, but most of it I don't deserve!"

"You idiot, you do too!"

"Yeah well….at least I'm the manlier twin!"

"What!" Vera stood up off his bed. "What does that have to do with anything!"

"Heh, it just means _I_ can get a girlfriend, while you'll be lucky if you get a lesbian."

With that, Vera tackled Vice to the ground. Things between the two of them were like this a lot.


	6. The Search Begins Story Of Tifa

_**Chapter 6- The Search Begins [The Story of Tifa]**_

"No no no, I assure you he'll be fine." Vincent said to Tifa on the phone. "Vice and Vera are now under house arrest in their rooms, and I'll personally make sure they stay there."

"Alright..." Tifa sighed with concern. "Just...take good care of him."

After the conversation Tifa hung up the phone. She turned to the others and reassured them that Vincent's sons won't harm Cloud again.

"Fine! Now what we really need ta focus on is findin' that chicken winged bastard and his rat kid!" Cid hollered.

The others nodded in agreement and dispersed to collect information. Tifa decided to cover the Northern Crater. Barret was going to the Gold Saucer. Red XIII and the new Cait Sith were going to the ruins of Midgar to search there. Cid was going to use his airship, the Shera, to search from the skies for anything weird. Yuffie, after much arguing and debate, was simply going to her homeland of Wutai for what she called 'a super thorough search of awesomeness and no materia I swear' as if they really believed that...

Tifas' first target was to get a ride there. She told Cid she'd find one on her own so as not to hinder his part of the investigation. Tifa was walking through the still young city of Edge pondering how she was to get all the way there. By foot would be a suicide trip, as the last time they did so nearly froze them to death. By car would be impossible. She was left with one choice left: air. She sighed and kicked a can on the street off into the distance with her unearthly strength, as she finally realized the only place she knew she could get a ride by air.

Tifa hopped a cab over to the new establishment for Shinra Inc. now entitled Shinra Peace Co. with a subtitle of 'Ensuring the tranquility of the new world!'. Shinra was now involved with things like security, law enforcement, and military reinforcement, but Tifa knew it was still only for Rufus' own greedy reasons. Nonetheless Tifa made her way there.

The front door opened to reveal the new temporary Shinra front desk secretary: Tseng. Tifa walked straight up to the man, calm and cool as he usually was. Tifa sighed and began to speak.

"Tseng...long time no see, huh?"

Tseng nodded, "Indeed, Tifa, it is nice to see you again. No terrorist attempts this time I hope."

Tifa smiled and shook her head. Tseng was always her favorite of the Turks. She felt some sort of hidden anger from Elena, and Reno and Rude annoyed her to no end. Tseng was quiet and calm. After being around Reno so much, Tifa very much liked quiet and calm.

"I'm here to see Rufus" she said.

"The president? Hmm, usually we require a previously made appointment, and even then people don't usually just get to meet with him. However, because of our...intertwined history, I believe he'll make an exception."

"Thanks Tseng."

Tseng gestured to follow her and took her the the top floor where Rufus' office was. Rufus Shinra. The son of the man who was ultimately responsible for all that had happened. The one who had her nearly put to death once upon a time. And the one whom they still had somewhat strained relationships with. This was the man that she was about to see face to face once again, and it made her nervous. Nervous, but also angry, and even a bit sad.

Tseng opened the door, allowing Tifa in first. Rufus was sitting in his chair, facing away from the front door, looking out a very large window at the back of the room. Tifa slowly walked over to the opposite side of the desk from him and tapped it, drawing his attention and turning him around.

Rufus looked to see Tifa and smiled his usual confident and arrogant smile. "Tifa" he said, "And to what do I owe the pleasure of seeing your face in here? Or...should I say to whom?"

Tifa didn't like the sound of that. The tone in Rufus' voice made it sound as if he knew something she didn't. Tifa frowned and sat on the desk.

"Okay Rufus, spill." she said.

"Oh? And what might that be?" Rufus asked tauntingly.

Tifa clenched her fist, and before Tseng or Rufus had time to react, Rufus was pinned against the wall, his collar clenched in Tifas' powerful hand. Tseng reached for his gun, but Rufus raised his hand in a gesture for Tseng to cease. All Rufus did was smile.

"I don't know" Tifa started, "but I know you do."

Rufus' smile eventually eased a bit as he began to speak. "Now Tifa, do you honestly think that just because my company may have turned its attentions to less...threatening...things, that I've lost my eyes in the city? You have a lot to learn then."

Tifa slammed him against the wall again. "Rufus Shinra! What do you know!? I won't ask again!"

Rufus nodded finally, "I know the boy's name: Epinine. I know that somehow he is connected to Sephiroth's return. I know that Sephiroth and Epinine may not be the only unexpected faces we will see. And I know that you made three grave mistakes."

Tifa grew a look of confusion, "And what would those be?"

"Number 1: you left Cloud with minimal protection."

"You think Vincent of all people is _minimal_ protection!?" Tifa questioned, obviously annoyed now.

Rufus smiled again, "Against the foes we now face? Ha ha ha! Vincent is nothing!"

Tifa then became concerned. Rufus shoved her off, sending her stumbling into his desk and tripping over it onto the ground. Tifa sat up slightly and glared at Rufus.

"Number 2" Rufus continued as he walked towards Tifa menacingly, "The remainder of your ragtag little group of 'heroes' split up!"

Tifa started scooting away, not entirely sure what was going on now.

"And number 3!" Rufus shouted with a different tone in his voice, a more threatening one, "You came into MY building, with the intention of threatening MY life, and laying your hands on ME! And my dear little Tifa..." he knelt down beside her, "that is quite possibly the worst mistake of them all..."

Tifa kicked Rufus away, jumped up, and broke into a full-on sprint towards the roof.

On the way towards the roof she spotted Reno and, without a single word, grabbed him and continued to the roof, where there was a helicopter. She ran to it, opened the door, and threw Reno in the driver seat. She then got in the other side.

"Fly!" She shouted.

Reno, a bit dazed, looked at her with a confused face, "Well! Hello to you too, boobs! What the hell is YOUR problem!?"

Shinra soldiers began to pour out onto the roof and shoot at the helicopter.

"I said FLY!" Tifa shouted even louder.

"Okay, okay!" Reno shouted, finally starting up the helicopter.

The Shinra soldiers shot at them as they took off, narrowly escaping their grasp.

Tifa breathed a sigh of relief. Reno kept looking back and forth from the windshield to Tifa.

Tifa looked at him, "What!?"

Reno snapped back to his windshield, "Whatya mean, 'what'!? You're the one with the scary-ass PMS trip here!"

Tifa smacked him upside the head and glared. "Just shut up and fly! We're going to the Northern Crater!"

Reno frowned, slumped, groaned, and flew. They flew for a couple hours and as they were drawing closer to the Northern Crater, Reno grew a strange look and cocked his head in an odd manner.

"What? What's wrong Reno?" Tifa asked.

Reno sat back again and his look went back to normal. "Eh, probably nothin'. Just thought I saw somethin' for a sec."

"Okay...and what was that?"

"Oh, it was stupid. For some reason I thought I saw Sephiroth for half a sec. But that's impossible."

Tifa gasped, "Reno!"

Reno flinched at the sudden outburst, "What!?" he yelled.

Tifa reached over and shoved the steering handle so that the helicopter was doing a near nosedive. Reno screamed and fought with her for a minute, confused and thinking that she had lost her mind altogether.

"Reno! That IS Sephiroth! You idiot! GO DOWN!" She shouted as she struggled.

"If that's Sephiroth, why the hell would I go _down_!?" Reno panicked. "I'm turnin' my ass around!"

Tifa smacked him again and glared. She spoke angrily this time, with a sort of sinister tone in her voice, "Reno...if you don't land this now, I swear I will do such unholy and irreversible things to you that you'll WISH it was only Sephiroth!"

Reno landed the helicopter.

With Reno "watching the helicopter" Tifa quickly sprinted out of the chopper in the direction of where Reno saw Sephiroth. Before too long she indeed saw Sephiroth and Epinine off in the distance. _This is it!_ She thought. _I'll get them while they're not expecting it!_

As Sephiroth and Epinine were walking, Epinine stopped suddenly and smiled. Sephiroth stopped to and looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "What?" he asked.

Epinine giggled. "She's finally here." he said.

Sephiroth grew curious, "Who?" he asked.

Epinine turned and pointed off into the distance. Sephiroth followed Epinine's finger with his eyes. As he saw who Epinine was pointing to, Sephiroth smiled the same smile. Tifa.

Tifa stopped suddenly in her tracks to see that Epinine and Sephiroth now knew she was there. Fear welled inside her, but nonetheless she stood her ground bravely. Sephiroth was far more powerful than her, and she knew that. On top of that there was Epinine. She had no idea just how much, if any at all, of a threat Epinine was.

Sephiroth summoned Masamune and began walking towards her. Tifa readied herself.

"Well, well, well, what brings _you_ here my beautiful little pest?" Sephiroth asked in a taunting voice.

Epinine giggled, "She came here to stop us, isn't it obvious?" he said.

Tifa nodded. Sephiroth laughed. Tifa growled and ran at Sephiroth. She went in full on, dodging the first swing of Sephiroth's sword. She flung herself at him, fists flying. Sephiroth was fast too, however, so dodging and blocking her moves came easily for him. Tifa spun around and kicked towards him; a kick that was caught in Sephiroth's powerful hand. Tifa gasped as she was now open for that brief second, a second that Sephiroth took advantage of. Within that quick second, Sephiroth impaled Tifa with the Masamune, the sword running completely through her chest.

Tifa winced and kicked off of him, screaming as the sword slid out of her body. Now a bit shaken, Tifa jumped back a distance. That distance, however, was quickly closed by Sephiroth fiercely attacking like a cheetah finishing off its prey. Through a mere few more seconds Sephiroth had stabbed Tifa three more times in the stomach, shoulder, and leg.

Tifa fell backwards, overwhelmed by this powerful foe. Sephiroth merely laughed as he thrust his sword through her chest once more.

"Is that all you've got, Tifa? Pathetic, I would've figured you could do more than simply punch and kick, but I guess that was stupid of me." Sephiroth teased triumphantly.

Tifa gasped for air. It hurt her to breath, and her vision was getting blurry. She wondered to herself how much blood she was losing, and if this was really going to be the end for her. Another thought went through her mind: Cloud. She couldn't die, not here, not now, not while Sephiroth is still alive and thirsts for Cloud's blood.

Tifa growled and painfully pulled the sword out of her, then yanked it towards her, pulling Sephiroth into a powerful kick to the stomach that sent him backwards. That, however, was more than she could take. Her entire body felt a sudden shock like electricity of searing pain. The wounds caused her entire body to convulse in agony.

Sephiroth caught himself and scowled. "That's enough of this!" he yelled as he began closing in on her, planning to end it.

Tifa's vision started to turn white, and she could feel everything slowly going numb. She knew she was losing consciousness. In horror, Tifa watched as Sephiroth came ever closer to her, as she slowly slipped from reality. Her last sight before she blacked out though, was not blood, but a white feather falling in front of her, and a voice rang out.

"Hang on, Tifa." the familiar voice said. "I've got you."


End file.
